Freedom Over Me: Eleven Slaves, Their Lives, and Dreams Brought to Life

Written by Ashley Bryan

Narrated by Patricia R. Floyd, Kevin R. Free and Jenny Sterlin

Using original slave auction and plantation estate documents, Ashley Bryan offers a moving and powerful picture book that contrasts the monetary value of a slave with the priceless value of life experiences and dreams that a slave owner could never take away. Imagine being looked up and down and being valued as less than chair. Less than an ox. Less than a dress. Maybe about the same as a lantern. You, an object. An object to sell. In his gentle yet deeply powerful way, Ashley Bryan goes to the heart of how a slave is given a monetary value by the slave owner, tempering this with the one thing that CAN'T be bought or sold--dreams. Inspired by the actual will of a plantation owner that lists the worth of each and every one of his workers, Bryan has created collages around that document, and others like it. Through fierce paintings and expansive poetry he imagines and interprets each person's life on the plantation, as well as the life their owner knew nothing about--their dreams and pride in knowing that they were worth far more than an Overseer or Madam ever would guess. Visually epic, and never before done, this stunning picture book is unlike anything you've seen.(from the print edition)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 7, 2017
• ISBN: 9781501958946

Ashley Bryan

Ashley Bryan (1923–2022) grew up to the sound of his mother singing from morning to night, and he shared the joy of song with children. A beloved illustrator, he was named a Newbery Honoree for his picture book, Freedom Over Me. He also received the Coretta Scott King—Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, was a May Hill Arbuthnot lecturer, a Coretta Scott King Award winner, and the recipient of countless other awards and recognitions. His books include Freedom Over Me; Sail Away; Beautiful Blackbird; Beat the Story-Drum, Pum Pum; Let It Shine; Ashley Bryan’s Book of Puppets; and What a Wonderful World. He lived in Islesford, one of the Cranberry Isles off the coast of Maine.

Reviews for Freedom Over Me

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful and poignant, poetry and imagination of both what slave life was like and what dreams they had. I particularly love how each person has another name in their dream life.

[reader1009-863136 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

picture book for older primary (3rd-5th grades)-poetry/free verse, slavery; fictionalized account of what 11 real slaves (names and ages taken from a primary source document bill of sale) might have been like. 2017 Newbery Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor (for author AND illustrator). This doesn't go into the uglier parts of slavery (no beatings, etc.) but does bring up how these people were stolen from their various homelands, restricted as to where they could go and what they could do, and separated from their families as "property." Mostly, the poems reverberate the theme of the desire to be free.

[ewyatt_16 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Eleven slaves are being sold after their master's death and his widow wants to move back to England. All with strong skill sets, there are two poems for each of the eleven characters exploring their identity and their dreams. A quick read based on a historical document.

[lispylibrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A lovely display of slave stories and dreams taken from an appraisal document. A little historical fiction mixed with fiction!

[elizabethhogeland · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book offers a peek into the lives of eleven slaves that were up for sale with the Fairchild household. Each page offers a look at what the slave may have looked like along with their jobs and duties in the home. The following page gave the person a chance to describe their dreams and what they loved about life.

[melodyreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful art, and thoughtful, imagined histories of eleven real slaves.

[mcintorino-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ashley Bryan imagines the thoughts, hopes, skills and dreams of the eleven individuals portrayed in the story. The stories of the individuals are based on actual slave documents. The writing is lyrical. The illustrations are colorful, tender and insightful. I could read this book and look at the illustrations over and over again.This would be an excellent book for a unit on slavery. This would be an excellent book for a unit on plantation life for slaves. Any reader interested in using primary documents as a springboard for imaginative writing and painting would find this book intriguing. Readers interested in history and slavery would find this book engrossing.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author reports in an Afterword that he came across a collection of slave-related documents that included an “estate sale” of eleven slaves (along with cows, hogs, and cotton). Since the slaves were only referred to by gender and age, he decided he wanted to create stories for them and give them voices.He introduces each slave by a picture he has imagined of the slave, noting his or her age and price. Then he envisions the slaves, in free-verse first-person narrative, describing the roles the might have played on the estate. The next page after each introduction imagines the dreams of that slave, which are in stark contrast to what a slave is allowed to do, and which always end with the dream of freedom. Athelia, for example, explains that she is the laundress for the Fairchild’s estate and she works “from dawn to dusk, in rain, cold, stifling heat.” Sometimes she has to do more: “As slaves, we do what our owners expect and demand of us.” But she adds, “As human beings, our real lives are our precious secret.” Then she tells of her dreams of the songs and stories of her past in Africa, and of her longing to be free.Bacus, who works with metals on the estate, has a wife and daughter. Now that they are all up for sale, he is terrified his family will be broken up: “I hardly sleep nights. I have terrible thoughts of separation. Powerless to keep my family together.” He dreams of respect, justice, and of course, freedom.Each of the eleven slaves is given a voice in this book.The author/illustrator has won Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award among other accolades. He uses brightly colored drawings and mixed media that he has said draw upon African-American spirituals, poetry, and folklore.Evaluation: Bryan found an excellent way to show both the harsh realities of slaves, and the ways in which they might have realized some joy through their families, their friends, their memories, and their hopes.